NIKE, DOING ITS A-B-C'S, IS HOPING ITS ALPHA-BET WILL WORK

The manufacturing of new sneaker models at Nike is
examined by Bill Richards of the WALL STREET JOURNAL under
the header, "Tripped Up By Too Many Shoes, Nike Regroups."
After "years of convincing buyers they need such sneaker
innovations as air bags and see-through heels," Nike's head
of sneaker research, Mario Lafortune, "concedes it is
getting harder to come up with innovations that people can
easily see." Richards writes that Nike now "has a new game
plan. Instead of endless innovations, it is revving up its
marketing machine to new heights." Under its "Alpha,"
program, Nike will market its most expensive apparel,
sporting goods and sneaker products as one unit, "under the
same 'halo.'" One ad may feature a model wearing a Nike
watch, Nike sunglasses, a Nike Jacket and Nike sneakers.
Nike will also use certain "Alpha Athletes" -- Tiger Woods,
for example -- wearing Nike "from head to toe." The "Alpha
approach" will begin at the end of the year. The "onset of
the Alpha program coincides with a backlash against an
endless stream of new Nike models with little to distinguish
them from one another" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/3).
LOSING ITS GRIP? In Dallas, Richard Alm writes under
the header, "Nike Feels Pinch In Its Pocketbook." Alm: "All
the sudden, Nike no longer looks like an unstoppable cash
machine. ... Nike remains formidable and profitable, so it's
not going away. Without a doubt, the company will continue
to be a potent force in sports marketing. Any retreat,
though, will send ripples through sports -- just because
Nike is so big" (Richard Alm, DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 3/3).